Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap says the main purpose of literature and cinema is to provoke people to question things.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap says the main purpose of literature and cinema is to provoke people to question things.

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“In our society we have this perception regarding music, literature or cinema, that the thing which provoke you are wrong. Contrary to which, the main aim of cinema or literature is to provoke the audience.

“I feel cinema should be something which can provoke you and not let you sleep. We can’t be dancing around and entertaining 24 hours. There are a lot of things which affect me and I can’t keep them inside me,” Kashyap said while addressing a session at the the Sahitya AajTak event. The filmmaker said Indians are conditioned to be obedient
and not question things.

“We are conditioned to be an obedient herd. If as a kid you ask questions about sex or religion you are scolded. I grew up in Benaras and we are brought up with a mindset which is full of hierarchy and caste system. We are infused with all this,” he said.

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Kashyap is known for making movies which have a darker tone, but the filmmaker feels ‘dark’ is just a label and things which people are not able to discuss openly are put in that category.

“The first poem I wrote in my school was not published and my father was told my writing is very dark. Dark is a relative term. What you may find dark may not be dark for someone else. We are conditioned in a way that we just can’t think about ourselves.

“Dark is just a label. Anything which we cannot talk openly about is termed as dark. We are taught not to ask questions,” he said.

The director always uses colloquial language in his films as he feels literature should not be limited to few good words.

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“The purpose of language is to communicate. If I am able to communicate without language, then I will not use words. Language should be something which can keep the communication strong.”

Kashyap feels people should have the freedom to derive their own meaning from literature or cinema.

“We end up making literature so small by limiting them to just words. Literature is not tied up in words. It is beyond culture and words. I will not consider a piece of literature if it is full of dos and don’ts. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what is literature for them. The fun is in diversity.”